Sir Peter Blake (b. 1932) is a renowned English artist, sometimes referred to as the "Godfather of British Pop Art” due to his pivotal role in developing Pop Art in the UK. Pop Art actually started in the UK (rather than USA) with artist Richard Hamilton in 1957.
Born in Dartford, Kent, Blake was educated at Gravesend Technical College and the Royal College of Art. He rose to prominence in the 1950s with collage-inspired work that borrowed from advertisements, posters, other artists, and more. He was included in the seminal Young Contemporary Artists exhibition in 1961 at the Royal Society of British Artists, featuring alongside David Hockney. The following year saw him involved in Ken Russel's BBC film, Pop Goes the Easel, which helped introduce Pop Art to a general British audience.
He is perhaps most famous for co-creating the sleeve design for The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts' Club and his works have been used by many other musical artists including The Who, Oasis, and Eric Clapton. He was knighted in 2002 at Buckingham Palace by Prince Charles for his services to the arts. He lives and works in England.
His work has achieved as much as $1 million at auction. Sir Peter Blake’s art is represented in major museum such as MoMA, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Tate Modern.